Re-enactors view a ceremony near Meade's Headquarters on the Gettysburg battlefield during ongoing activities commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, Sunday, June 30, 2013, in Gettysburg, Pa. Union forces turned away a Confederate advance in the pivotal battle of the Civil War fought July 1-3, 1863, which was also the war’s bloodiest conflict with more than 51,000 casualties. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Re-enactors stand near luminaries that mark the graves of Union dead at Soldiers' National Cemetery during ongoing activities commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, Sunday, June 30, 2013, in Gettysburg, Pa. Union forces turned away a Confederate advance in the pivotal battle of the Civil War fought July 1-3, 1863, which was also the war’s bloodiest conflict with more than 51,000 casualties. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

GETTYSBURG, Pa. (AP) — People are flocking to the Gettysburg battlefield in droves for the 150th anniversary of the Civil War's defining conflict, with many visitors seeking to honor ancestors who fought there as soldiers.

Up to 10,000 Union and Confederate troops died at Gettysburg July 1-3, 1863, with another 30,000 wounded.

Some of the bloodiest fighting occurred exactly 150 years ago Tuesday at The Wheatfield, Devil's Den and Little Round Top.

Today, those battlefield sites were overrun by history buffs and tourists following on popular history programs led by park rangers, and people seeking to walk in the footsteps of distant relatives.

The first program Tuesday morning at Little Round Top site had more than 500 attendees, roughly 10 times more than the typical turnout.

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